This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
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Monday, April 18, 2016

Please. Rick Snyder is not leading the State of Michigan. He is robbing it. For God sake he sold the pipeline that was carrying clean water to Flint and for some real mystical reason he can't get it back. It is called corruption. If I was Snyder I'd drink the water in Flint if I knew it would protect me from prison.The developer of the website is a geologist. He works with people regarding Pennsylvania's private wells.

Lead is a toxic metal (click here) that is harmful to human health; there is NO safe level for lead exposure. The degree of exposure depends on the concentration of lead, route of exposure (air, water, food), current medical condition, and age. It has been estimated that up to 20 % of the totallead exposure in children can be attributed to a waterborne route, i.e., consuming contaminated water. In addition, infants, fetuses, and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning. This is because they usually consume more water and their bodies are actively developing, which facilitates the bioaccumulation of lead....Pennsylvania Groundwater Quality: Your Private Well: (click here)What Do the Results Mean? - Second Edition, 2012Any geologist will tell those that ask, pure drinking water is a high priority. Geologists that work with the public regarding their well water will drill small narrow sampling well to test the water in an aquifer. If the primary aquifer proves to carry unhealthy degrees of contaminants, the geologist will then drill down further to find a deeper aquifer. Of course there has to be aquifers, but, no geologist to accept contaminants in the water even if there are going to be filters in the house.As a matter of fact, river water and any overland flow is always unhealthy by the pure fact they carry silt and anything along the way into the water source be it lake or otherwise. Reservoirs are managed and tested regularly and no one gets their water supply to the house directly from a reservoir anyway.Michigan has an extensive study of water sources in the state. Michigan has a lot of lakes. There is no way pollution should be tolerated in any water source because it has far reaching implications. The groundwater inventory and mapping project (click here) was developed because Public Act 148 (Michigan, Public Acts of 2003) required the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to create a "groundwater inventory and map" that includes eight specific products, a general requirement for a groundwater inventory, and a directive to make the map and inventory available to the public....These maps are accurate. I haven't done my due diligence in finding a better water source for Flint. There has to be one somewhere other than the Flint River. I should spend some time tomorrow to examine these circumstances. Flint, Michigan is going to have to solve it's own problems obviously the Governor who caused these problems is not the least bit interested in actual governance.I have to go to the library and hope the documents I need are there. The library hasn't let me down yet.My understanding is there was no mistakes that could be made regarding the Flint River. What I have read today, the fish in the river started to disappear in the 1930s. This is a long standing problem, everyone knew about it and to actually replace clear water with deadly river water is grossly remiss. People have a right to peace of mind when raising their children.There may be more than one solution for Flint. I'll try to remember to take the Life magazine with me to the scanners in the library tomorrow. I have it in my car, I just need to complete that loop. Let me see what I can come up with.Is there an underground aquifer under Flint? Who was that professor working with the people of Flint?See below. Right there. I just don't know if that is the same longetude and latitude. If there is an aquifer under or exceptionally close to Flint, it could be tapped and the people of Flint would have control over their water and would only have to pay the bills that maintained the operation of the well.One of the things that comes into play when using aquifers to provide water for a city is the 'draw down' rate which provides a picture of sustainable water to the people in a period of time. In other words, does the aquifer have enough recharge to support the water demands of Flint. The map below is the drawdown map.There is a chance for a real possibility for Flint. I'll do this tomorrow. The afternoon is empty. I might have to write some letters, but, it will begin a process to answer the problems with a decent water source. See, Snyder made a decision to provide water supply to Flint from the Flint River. People are bathing and getting rashes. There has to be a reason why that is occurring. I think the people need answers. They want a future they can afford and provides healthy water to them and their children. Snyder doesn't intend to change the water source to Flint. That should be completely obvious.

There is some observation that she slumped about this time in 2008. She should put on her waders and remind them how important it is to vote to maintain clean water and air and beautiful habitat for Striped Bass.This fashion statement never makes it to the runway, but, perhaps it should.Caddis Systems Deluxe Wome's Breathable Stocking Foot Wader, 2-Tone Taupe (click here)We never see Hillary Clinton on the golf course or on the beach or in fishing streams. She should consider nurturing that side of herself to display it to voters. Maybe she likes scrap booking better, but, certainly she has passion for a sport somewhere in her life. She should consider her profile as a real person with real interests.April 14, 2016By Alex KenneyThe striped bass bite (click here) is on again in the Hudson River above the George Washington Bridge. That word comes from anglers near Croton and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge area.

It is welcome news, too, since fishing had slowed due to recent heavy rain and then murky run-off.

Anglers are enticing keepers with bloodworms and fresh bait.

Meanwhile, Capt. Chris, on one of his Island Current trips from City Island in Long Island Sound, continues his successful scouting for winter flounder around Oyster Bay.

And on the other side of Long Island, Capt. Dave Paris on his Capt. Dave III from Sheepshead Bay, plans more of his productive daytime flounder fishing in Jamaica Bay.

But he’s also looking forward to launching his nightly evening striped bass trips with today’s opening of New York’s marine bass fishing season. The skipper’s first destination: clamming in Raritan Bay.....Sports are a real part of the American economy. Even Little League has an economic value.April 13, 2016By Monte BurkeA year or so after I moved to New York City (click here) —a disorienting experience for this obsessed fly fisherman—I came across a book called L.L. Bean Fly Fishing For Striped Bass Handbook. It wasn’t until then, I guess, that I fully realized that these great fish are abundant in the waters surrounding the city. This book became pretty much my manual for pursuing them. It was written by a man named Brad Burns.A few years later, Burns co-authored another book, Fly Fishing For Saltwater’s Finest, with the late, great John Cole. And just last year, he published his first book about another great species, the Atlantic salmon. Closing The Season is a beautiful tome about salmon fishing on New Brunswick’s Miramichi and Cains rivers, where Burns happens to have some water....For me it was horses, my middle sister tennis and my youngest sister was ridiculously athletic. She played soft ball from the age of 9 through high school graduation. She went to Kean College and was on the semi-pro softball team that traveled the east coast.She finally got married and my mother who thinks knitting is an athletic accomplishment (I have nothing against knitting, but, it is not a sport.) thought the sports ventures would end and she would settle down. Not. She married a man that played fast pitch softball all his young life.As a matter of fact my youngest sister became more athletic after she was married. She played softball and when the season was over she became an ice hockey goalie. So did her spouse. They recently celebrated their 25th anniversary after watching her youngest son graduate from college on a LaCrosse scholarship.She is about to cross the age 50 mark and her injuries of the past are haunting her, so now she simply privately coaches young high school women into softball scholarships. Everyone of them have left home for college without paying a dime for their education. She is something. But, the point is she is not alone. There are women all over the country athletic and real achievers. They love it. Bass fishing. Yep.

Christopher Currie from the GAO in regard to Homeland Security testimony finds the states are not fully involved in providing assessment of their fiscal issues regarding FEMA. He said FEMA is burdened with more assessment issues because the states are not fully aware of their emergency expectations. He also stated the monies to states are not delayed by the federal government, however, there are several states not distributing their FEMA funds for as long as a year.Senator Paul asked as to the "Stingray Cell Towers." The reply was that police are suppose to get subpoena before using them. Senator Paul states, "...clearly that isn't happening...." He wants to introduce a bill that would remove the potential of invasive use of these cell towers based in the fact Maryland recently heard a case about them.March 31, 2016By Cyrus FarivairOn Wednesday, (click here) the Maryland Court of Special Appeals published a legal opinion finding that state police must not only obtain a warrant before deploying a cell-site simulator, but are required to also fully explain to the court what exactly the device does and how it is used.

As Ars has long reported, cell-site simulators—known colloquially as stingrays, can be used to determine a mobile phone’s location by spoofing a cell tower. In some cases, stingrays can intercept calls and text messages. Once deployed, the devices intercept data from a target phone along with information from other phones within the vicinity. At times, police have falsely claimed the use of a confidential informant when they have actually deployed these particularly sweeping and intrusive surveillance tools....Liars. Police in the USA can't be a reliable source of information and obviously cameras are an improvement. Lying compromises citizen safety and should never be tolerated.

Rear Admiral Stephen Reed, MD has some specifics about Zika. He states there seems to be two different mosquitoes involved in the transmission of the disease. He also stated larvacides can be used to end the mosquito development.Aedes is the genius of the two species of mosquito. The Aedes aegypti is the primary mosquito. Aedes albopictus (click here) is the other minor species in the USA that is carrying the disease.

The symptoms of the microcephaly with this virus is unique to science. Dr. Reed stated the brain of the fetus is infected inutero. The brain after infection deteriorates/does not develop on a normal path. The difference in the manifestation of microcephaly is that the head is fully formed and when the baby is born their skull plates over lap with each other because the brain does not occupy the space the genetics provided for it. As one recalls the 'soft spots' of an infants head allows for further growth before the plates actually fuse to create the skull.

Evidently, each case of the Zika virus infant is speculative to the function of the baby and ultimately a child. This is a unique outcome for a virus. The virus acts upon a normal genetic developing fetus in uteroresulting in a far smaller brain. This is not the usual path for microcephaly. I think it is safe to say this is an induced failure of the genetics of the fetus.

In a different priority for the USA having adequate supplies of bioactive vaccines is expensive. Senator Clare McCaskill wants to explore the possibility of the USA having it's own vaccine production on orphaned products. Currently, the commercial pharmacies are producing the orphaned vaccines, but, at a large cost to the USA. She stated the pharmaceutical companies working for USA vaccine contracts are appreciated, but, it was time to look into the possibilities of the USA having it's own production plant to assist in lowering the costs of supplies for Homeland Security.

This calls only one issue to mind, but, it is an important issue. When the anthrax bacteria was found in mail services the investigation proved to find a scientist within the USA government that was stated to be the one person involved with the anthrax infestation in the country.

I realize a scientist is unique to finding employees qualified and this is not the usual government employee, however, the idea of producing our own vaccines should include a secure pool of employees to produce these important vaccines and immuno supplies.

It was stated a particularly expensive product is nowbeing investigated to provide a freeze dried product with a longer shelf life. Those products should go forward and the company involved should receive orders from the USA as a good faith recognition of containing costs.

I think it best the USA have its own capacity to produce vaccines and immuno products to insure the well being of the people. This, in my opinion, should have been instituted as a priority 15 years ago

The entire city of Houston is shutdown. Everyone was told decades ago to expect this. Oh, what can rain do? The correct answer is a lot. The costs of the climate crisis is ridiculous and it is hitting the federal government in a challenge to take care of people. The country needs a tax increase to pay for vital programs and rise to the occassion of dire emergencies. Everyone was told.All this could have been averted if it weren't for Republican dinosaurs elected to office throughout the country.April 18, 2016By Jon HerskovitzLarge parts of Texas (click here) were under a flash flood warning on Monday after a storm system dumped as much as 20 inches (51 cm)of rain in areas near Houston, causing hundreds of canceled flights, closed roads and massive power outages.The National Weather Service also issued a flash flood watch extending through much of central Texas, into the Houston area as well as western Louisiana and Arkansas.In Houston, more than 70 residential subdivisions reported flooding and Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled his State of the City speech planned for Monday, instructing all non-essential city employees to stay home."If you do not have to be out, please stay put. This not the day to be on the roads in the city of Houston," Turner told reporters, adding seven area rivers have exceeded their banks....

President Putin's annual call in program:Goldman Sachs in Germany is getting the USA in trouble because of a magazine article about billion dollar purchases for musical instruments purchased by Russians.A caller asks who President Putin would rather work with Clinton or Trump?President Putin states the USA has been a good partner in international agreements. He stated he does not think particular international partners are his focus. He states his focus with the USA is to look at international issues with an understanding of what is the bottom line, not what is the opportunity to intervene. When the bottom line indicates there is a reason to intervene then the global community needs to act on the understanding of necessity.

What happened to Putin's program? We should have the ability to watch his program in it's entirety. The Russian people calling in and in the audience were very open and concerned for their own best interests. One woman wanted to know how President Putin was given his former spouse recently was married again. He stated he was fine and thought his personal life was a distraction for the country and did not consider it important to discuss.There was a local fish cannery that was featured on the program. They were very open about their security concerns, including crime and corruption that was occurring. The employees stated people don't come to live in the village because of personal security issues and corruption. President Putin stated he didn't know what to say because the government seemed to be absent in their duties. He asked if the people of the village had notified government officials about their plight and they stated yes. President Putin stated the issue would not be overlooked and would be resolved.When asked where the fish had come from for the cannery, they stated China. They stated Russia fish would be coming into season soon. President Putin told the workers at the cannery the Duma was working to pass some legislation that would bring fresh or refrigerated fish to them. He stated the shipments from outside the country are not to be frozen. He stated the fish processing plant could not do their best work with frozen fish. The people had a journalist well versed on the community's concerns and he articulated them well.I find these programs interesting. There was a man in the audience concerned Russia did not have a vibrant recycling program for environmental responsibility. President Putin stated many aspects of a good recycling program to him and would hope the government better address these problems that still exist in Russia.I found this program was more frank than amusing. It looked as though the Russia people were more assured to their ability to ask difficult questions and the complaints that accompanied them. I believe President Putin has made good in roads to the confidence Russian people have in asking their questions without retaliation or better said believed fear of retaliation. I believe this program (what I saw of it) showed a great deal of resolve of the Russia people to confidently approach their President regardless of the nature of their complaints and questions. Whether anyone in the West wants to admit it or not these openness programs by President Putin and others within the Russian government, such as their foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, have improved the confidence the Russian people have in approaching their government. These openness programs have been both good for the Russia people and their government.

It is best to remain non-judgmental of any of these programs because the government is sincerely trying. They do want to know what the people have to say and they do want to make Russian quality of life better through this openness. I think Russia realizes the quality of life is what every Russian wants.

I am not going to discuss Russian nationalism and the problems in Ukraine. That is a different issue. The Russian people have a right to quality of life and these programs have been instrumental in providing a stronger platform for them.A You Tube program without an interpreter does not do me any good. That is why I liked listening to C-Span. The entire program should be available on C-Span. The American people should know something about their supposedly MOST DEADLY ENEMY ON EARTH! Honestly.

The citizens of Flint, Michigan should ask for initiatives to end the poisoning in the city's water. This is somewhat of a template. I am sure no one expected to face this issue nearly 20 years later. This is a demonstration of how Grover Norquist hurts the country.In recognition of the growing body of scientific information (click here)demonstrating that America’s children suffer more than adults from environmental health risks and safety risks, President William Jefferson Clinton issued Executive Order 13045 on April 21, 1997, directing each federal agency to make it a high priority to identify, assess, and address those risks. In issuing this order, the President also created the Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children, co-chaired by Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Carol M. Browner, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Task Force was charged with recommending strategies for protecting children’s environmental health and safety.

This Strategy has been developed by an interagency work group of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. Workgroup representatives are listed on page five. The goal of the workgroup was to develop a set of recommendations to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the United States as a major public health problem by the year 2010. This report focuses primarily on expanding efforts to correct lead paint hazards (especially in low-income housing), a major source of lead exposure for children.

The waxing gibbous11.1 day old moon85.5 percent litTonight is a very big night for Jupiter's moons.April 17, 2016By Mike Lynch...No matter how big or small your telescope is, (click here) you’ll get a kick out of watching Jupiter’s four brightest moons, Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, as they orbit around their gravitational master in periods of less than two days to just over 16 days. Because of their continual dance, they will constantly be changing positions relative to the disk of Jupiter. Some nights you may see two on one side and two on the other, or three on one side and one on the other, or all four on one side. There are also many nights when you can’t see all four at one time because one or more moons may be behind of or in front of Jupiter from our Earthly vantage. When a moon is behind Jupiter you obviously have no shot at seeing it, but when one is in front of the disk of the planet you may see the dot of its shadow on Jupiter, although you need a moderate to larger telescope to see this. With Jupiter’s relative proximity this month and most of this upcoming fall, you have a chance of seeing a moon shadow on Jupiter even with some of the smaller scopes. It’s worth a try....